Mubarak bin Mohammed Al Nahyan (1935–2010) was an Emirati royal and the first interior minister of the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

. He also held other public posts which were mostly security-related.

Early life

Al Nahyan was born in 1935. He was the second son of Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan and grandson of

Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan (; 7 September 1948 – 13 May 2022) was the second president of the United Arab Emirates and the ruler of Abu Dhabi, serving from November 2004 until his death in May 2022. Khalifa was the eldes ...

. Mubarak's elder brother was

Hamdan Hamdan ( ') is a name of Arab origin of aristocratic descent and many political ties within the middle east and the Arab World, controlling import/export mandates over port authorities. Among people named Hamdan include: Given name * Hamdan Mo ...

. He also had younger brothers, Tahnoun and Saif.

Career

Mubarak was close to the rulers of Abu Dhabi. During the reign of Shakhbut bin Sultan, he was named as the director of the police and the public security department in 1961. He replaced Sultan bin Shakbut Al Nahyan as the director of the Abu Dhabi Police. In May 1964 Sheikh Shakhbut removed Bill Edge, a British citizen, from office who had been serving as the commander (it was labelled as ''commandant'') and chairman of the Abu Dhabi Police since 1961 and appointed Mubarak Al Nahyan to this post. When Zayed bin Sultan succeeded Shakhbut bin Sultan as the ruler of Abu Dhabi in 1966, Mubarak and his brothers, Hamdan, Tahnoun and Saif, assumed major roles due to the fact that Zayed bin Sultan's sons were very young to hold these posts. Mubarak Al Nahyan retained his post as commander of the Abu Dhabi Police under Sheikh Zayed. In 1967 Mubarak Al Nahyan was promoted from the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

to that of major general. He became the minister of interior of Abu Dhabi in June 1971. Immediately after the establishment of the United Arab Emirates on 2 December 1971 Mubarak was appointed minister of interior on 9 December to the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

led by

Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum (; 15 August 1943 – 4 January 2006) was an Emirati royal and politician who served as the second vice president, first and third prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, and ruler of Dubai. He was pr ...

. Therefore, Mubarak is the first Emirati official to hold this post. He was also appointed minister of interior to the second cabinet of Al Maktoum formed on 23 December 1973. Mubarak was also made a member of the Abu Dhabi's executive council in December 1973. His term as the commander of the Abu Dhabi Police ended in 1974, and he was replaced by Mohammed Jumaa Al Dhaheri in the post. Mubarak continued to serve as the interior minister of the United Arab Emirates until 20 November 1990. Hammouda bin Ali succeeded him as interior minister.

Personal life and death

His eldest son is

Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan (; born 1951) is an Emirati royal and politician, who currently serves as the minister of tolerance of the United Arab Emirates. Al Nahyan previously served as the minister of culture and the minister of higher ...

, an Emirati politician. His other son, Hamdan, served as the chairman of Abu Dhabi’s Civil Aviation Department and chairman of Gulf Air. Mubarak Al Nahyan was seriously injured in a road accident in the United Kingdom in 1979. He died on 24 February 2010.

Awards and legacy

Mubarak Al Nahyan was the recipient of the Zayed 2nd Order, the

Order of King Abdulaziz The Order of King Abdulaziz (Arabic: وسام الملك عبد العزيز Wisām al-malik ‘Abd al-‘Azīz) is a Saudi Arabian order of merit. The order was named after Abdulaziz Al Saud, founder of the modern Saudi state. History In 1971 ...

and the Qatar Collar of Merit. In 2022 a prize was instituted in memory of him, Sheikh Mubarak bin Mohammed Prize for Natural History.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nahyan, Mubarak Mohammed 1935 births 2010 deaths Mubarak Mohammed Interior ministers of the United Arab Emirates 20th-century Emirati people